Egyptian pyramids base lengths royal cubit

Egyptian pyramid bases nearly matched in length

≤0.05% difference

Around 2900 BC, builders used replica standards for the royal cubit, a unit based on a pharaoh’s forearm plus the width of his hand. The lengths of pyramid bases differed by no more than 0.05%, showing how a shared unit could produce consistency across large building projects.

Tree rings point to an unusually large solar event

Carbon-14 in tree rings points to a solar event in 774–775 CE. The event is estimated to have been at least 10 times the size of the Carrington Event, and its carbon-14 signal was about 20 times the normal variation associated with solar activity.

Microbes may help estimate time of death

After death, the community of microbes in the body changes in a fairly regular way. The normal microbiome breaks down and is replaced by other microbes as decay continues. Scientists may be able to use this changing pattern to help estimate how long a person has been dead.

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Egyptian pyramids base lengths royal cubit

Egyptian pyramid bases nearly matched in length

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